``"The composition of matter as we see it today is the product of     
   nuclear reactions which have taken place a long time ago in the
   stars or in star explosions, where conditions prevailed which we
   simulate in a very microscopic way within our accelerating 
   machines. Hence the material basis of the world in which we live  
   is a product of the laws of nuclear physics. I cannot better illustrate
   the  interconnection of all facts of nature, the tightly woven net of
   the laws of physics, than by pointing to the chart of abundances of 
   elements in our part of the universe. Each maximum and minimum
   in the curve of abundances corresponds to some trait of nuclear
   dynamics, here a closed shell, there a strong neutron cross section,
   or a low binding energy."

                                                              V. F. Weisskopf